Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews is having a really good month.

First, he led the Blackhawks past the Tampa Bay Lightning for their third Stanley Cup title in six seasons and the team’s first victory in front of its home crowd in 77 years. Now, he gets to enjoy another first.

Toews will be the first ever co-cover star of EA’s NHL video game franchise, sharing the NHL 16 cover with teammate Patrick Kane. It’s a fitting choice since it was Kane and Toews who were also the first teammates to ever earn back-to-back covers, for NHL 10 and NHL 11, respectively.

Rarely is one player brought up without mention of the other. They have been the backbone of the Blackhawks’ run of success since their first Cup win in 2010, and it was during the insanity of their most recent victory that they found out their year really couldn’t get much better.

“(We found out) actually in the crazy (Cup) celebration on the ice,” Toews said. “We had a bunch of people coming to us, the EA people, the NHL people, and Kane and I both work with the same agent, and they told us what was going on. We had to take the Cup and try to get a quick picture with it in the corner, and that’s when I realized that they were telling us we were (really) going to be on the cover of the video game. It was all too much to take in. It was pretty crazy, and that was just another thing you threw in the mix with how amazing that moment was.”

The chance to appear on the cover of hockey’s best-known video game a second time, and with a teammate, was an unexpected surprise for Toews, but he hopes the fans will be as thrilled about the final product as he is. Unsurprisingly, Toews and Kane can be pretty competitive with each other, and EA’s decision to tap both this year was heartily appreciated.

The cover of NHL 16. (EA Sports)

“I just hope the gamers out there aren’t getting sick of us,” Toews said. “I think we were both pretty psyched the first time around. He got it the year before I did, and I was hoping some day I would get the chance, but I didn’t think it would happen that quickly. And sure enough, here we are again.

“When one (of us) gets a little something, the other gets a little jealous, so you’ve got to keep us both happy, and now we’re both on the cover so it’s working out great.”

All jokes aside, Toews notes how much the two stars have grown in the six years since Kane first appeared on the cover, but that the magnitude of every distinction they get to share still awes them.

“We’re still kids at heart,” Toews said. “We love to play video games, but I think in a lot of ways we have grown on and off the ice, and as players we’re just so happy and thrilled that we’ve been able to share some of these moments on the ice, and this is another one of those things we can throw on the list of amazing things we’ve been through together.”

Toews’ initial reaction to the latest version of the game, which will include playoff beards, was total excitement, but he’s hardly a newbie. The 27-year-old has been there since the beginning.

“I think it’s something kids grew up with,” he said. “I grew up with it in the 1990s, playing Nintendo and Sega and NHL 95. I think 94 was the first year (they had one). I think it’s safe to say the game has changed a lot since then. For me, I was probably more of a two- or three-button guy, and now there are so many controls and they’re adding playoff beards to so it’s crazy to see the things they can do now.”

Although Toews plays for the Blackhawks now, they weren’t his go-to team to play with back then (“I was the L.A. Kings because Wayne Gretzky was my favorite player, and he was the best player in the game.”), and they aren’t even always his pick now.

“I guess I probably play with the Blackhawks more often than not, but I like to change it up once in a while too,” he said. “(I like to) try something different. (Seeing yourself in the game) is not only weird but seeing how detailed it is is weird. I can’t believe they do that stuff; it’s beyond my understanding. But it’s pretty cool.”

Unfortunately Toews doesn’t have a lot of time to spend with video games at the moment (“One of these days I will.”), but that’s a small price to pay. As he got ready to head to the NHL Awards, where he won the Mark Messier Award for leadership, Toews touched on what it took for the Blackhawks to complete their Cup run. How every game is its own game. How every moment is its own moment.

He was talking about hockey, but given the whirlwind surrounding him yet again, after another incredible year filled with highs, he could have been giving himself advice too.

“I don’t think you look at the big picture,” Toews said. “You just take it one day at a time.”

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